With a great deal of irony, Yahweh challenges the people to beg their new gods to save them. The word choice here adds to the ironic tone.

Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen: Here there appears to be almost a note of dismissal or refusal in this comment from the LORD. The two verbs Go and cry describe one action. Here cry has the sense of “cry out for help” (see verse 3.9). Go and cry may be rendered “Go on and cry” or “Go ahead and beg for help.” The gods whom you have chosen are the gods of the neighboring Canaanites. For the Hebrew verb rendered have chosen (bachar), see verse 5.8. It is a key verb in Deuteronomy, where it is most often used for Yahweh who chose the people of Israel as his own (see, for example, Deut 7.6-7). This verb is important from a theological point of view and needs to be carefully rendered here.

Let them deliver you in the time of your distress: Since Yahweh has refused to help his people, he suggests they turn to their new gods. Both Yahweh and his people know these gods are unable to save them. Translators should try to express the ironic or mocking tone here. Deliver renders the same Hebrew verb as in the previous two verses. The Hebrew pronoun for them is emphatic, which helps create the ironic tone. The Hebrew phrase rendered in the time of your distress is a general one, meaning “whenever you are in trouble.” The Hebrew word for distress comes from the same root as the verb rendered “distressed” in verse 10.9. This phrase may be translated “now that you are in trouble.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• Go on then! Now that you’re in trouble, cry out to the gods you have chosen to help you.”

• Go ahead and plead with the gods you have chosen for yourselves, so they can come and rescue you in this time of distress.”

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .